Some ghosts for halloween!

So for this year’s celebration of Halloween, I thought I’d feature a few ghosts on the blog! Not real ghosts – ummm, not that I believe ghosts are real!! – but ghost signs! I’ve covered some of these in some very early blogposts, and I contributed quite a number to the Historic England ghost signs project back in 2023.

Of course, the usual definition of a ghost sign is that it is a painted sign on the side of a building, that has been left after the business or service it was advertising has gone. In my earlier posts, I extended this to cover other kinds of signs that remained on a building after the business associated with it had gone, so for example, the Messenger offices on Cumberland Road where the embossed terractotta name can still be seen; the former names of pubs like the current Organ Grinder (the Packe Horse), the Black Lion (the Tap and Clapper), and the Corporation Hotel (the Carpenters Arms); or even sandstone plaques on a building indicating the business that used to take place on the premises, like Parks Millwrights, or monograms of previous owners, for example PJM in Market Place.

Some of the ghost signs from those early blogposts are now gone, and some which weren’t really ghost signs at the time have now become such, like Putts.

So, in the last couple of weeks we have lost two of our iconic ghost signs, both of which were a long part of Loughborough’s history. The first is the sign on the Shepshed Lace Manufacturing, which was on the former factory on Great Central Road, the sign on the side facing onto the railway track. Loughborough has a long history of hosiery and lacemaking, but there are few buildings left in which this trade was worked. Shepshed Lace began in 1906, in the Bullring in Shepshed, moved to Sullington Road in 1909, opened a mill in Duffield in 1917, and eventually moved the warehouse and the manufacturing to Loughborough in 1927.

 

The Herbert Morris factory on Empress Road that we have seen today until very recently, was but a shadow of the former factory, which also had premises close to the Midland railway. The company were in the business of lifting gear, but in addition to the products they made, the factory on Empress Road was also known as a site which suffered from the dropping of a Zeppelin bomb on 31st January 1916. The frontage onto Empress Road was for some time a car repair garage, but lately, the original Herbert Morris sign has been revealed, and can still be seen.

 

Some new signs which I didn’t cover in those early blogposts include one on Biggin Street, which is on the side of the building which is now the LOROS shop. This one reads “Harry Grayson complete house furnishers”. The property looks to have been built around 1900, so I’m assuming that Harry Grayson was based there before C. E. Goodliffe, who, in the 1960s, when they moved to Church Gate (where the picture framers is now, not the restaurant), then passed the building to Pickworths. I have yet to discover if Goodliffe is related to Gascoyne and Goodliffe who were hosiery makers on Mill Street (possibly in the old Heathcoat Building).

Another new sign for this post is the one between the old India Association building and Topic hairdressers. Actually, there’s two ghost signs – or three if you count the gate!! One can be seen if heading in the direction of Tylers, the other if heading in the direction of Swancar. The first of these is a sign advertising ‘Studio 13’ which was a ladies hair salon at the back of Topic. The other sign is much older, but is in a pretty poor state, which makes it difficult to read. It even almost looks as though it’s two signs, one painted over the other. So, if the numbering on Swan Street hasn’t changed, these are the occupants of no.13 over time (although the 1901 census return seems to record 13 as 13A, and 13A as 13):

1877 – Joseph Cooper, hatter and Samuel Marsh, hatter

1881 – Charles D. Marriott, tinner and brazier and metal work master

1892 – Mrs Mary Marriott, tinner and brazier

1901 – Walter Caldwell, house furnisher, while 13A was Arthur Marriott, locksmith

1908 – Thomas C. Towell, confectioner

1911 – William Chadbourne, confectioner (sweets etc.), while 13A was John Caldwell, furniture dealer

1939 – Florence Chadbourne, confectioner (master)

1952 – still the Chadbourne family of confectioners

1962 – John Sarson and son, wine and spirit merchants. Also listed as 13, John Caldwell second-hand furniture dealer

So, my opinion is that the final line on this advert says “Made to order” and the line above that mentions “Stove”. Above that is “…ping”, and the top line seems to say “…runks”. Maybe, “Trunks”, “Piping”, “Stove …”, “Made to order” – so either associated with Charles D. Marriott, the tinner, brazier, and metal work master, or possibly Arthur Marriott the locksmith.

 

The final ghost sign I’d like to share is the one on Wood Gate, close to Bedford Square. Now, I do seem to remember that there might have been an Indian takeaway shop there at one time – or am I imagining that? So would the ghost sign really be saying “Balti”?

 

And here I must leave Halloween as the night is drawing in and ghostly happenings are beginning to, ummm, happen!!

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Here are some of my earlier posts about ghost signs:

Ghost signs of Loughborough Part 1 https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2014/03/ghost-signs-of-loughborough.html

Ghost signs of Loughborough Part 2 https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2014/03/ghost-signs-of-loughborough-part-2.html

Loughborough building demolished – about the ghost sign on the old labour exchange on Cradock Street https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/04/loughborough-building-demolished.html

Ever-changing Loughborough – Shepshed Lace https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/10/ever-changing-loughborough.html

The Old Art College and The Generator https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-old-art-college-and-generator.html

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

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The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). Some ghosts for Halloween!  Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/10/some-ghosts-for-halloween.html [Accessed 31 October 2025]

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Herbert Morris Empress Road

Many years ago, the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society produced a journal in which they listed properties that were being altered or demolished. Although this was in the 1960s, and there was much development in the town, it was still possible for the Society to comment upon such works, and that in nearby villages. 

Today, this task would be impossible! Developments and alterations are so numerous, it's unlikely anyone could keep up. So, as the plan to demolish the Herbert Morris East works buildings on Empress Road, first mooted in 2015 has now been re-submitted (comments due by 3rd November), earlier this week I decided to photograph the bits that were on public view, so there is a record of the building (for as long as this blog is available).

The building is of interest from a historical point of view for many reasons, not least because of it being the place where a Zeppelin bomb fell in 1916. I've written about this extensively before - in the Loughborough Zeppelin Trail, photos of the factory in this post about a Zeppelin Walk led by a friend of mine in 2014, an account of a series of commemorative plays that took place across town in 2016, a post about a commemorative walk in 2016, and a good friend of mine wrote a guest blogpost about Zeppelin L20. Of course, as a working factory, the business produced machinery that is still in use today, across the country, and probably the world.

Please bear with if the photos take a long time to load - I haven't had time to edit them for the blog.

Looking along Empress Road from Great Central Road

Looking along Empress Road

Part of the factory building on Empress Road

Part of the factory on Empress Road

View of part of the factory on Empress Road

Beside Moor Lane bridge

View along the canal

View along the canal

View along the canal

Morris machinery still in action locally

____________________________________

posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog. You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2022). Herbert Morris Empress Road. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/10/herbert-morris-empress-road.html [Accessed 28 October 2022]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

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If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.  

 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne             

Loughborough's letterboxes, Pt 3

Over the past two weeks, we've been looking at some interesting pillar boxes in Loughborough, firstly a rare anonymous box, followed by a couple of pillar boxes bearing the VR cipher. This week, let's stick with pillar boxes, and have a quick tour around those with the EVIIR cipher, the GR cipher, and the GVIR cipher. 

Sadly, we don't have any EVIIIR boxes in Loughborough, but we do have at least a couple of EVIIR boxes. Out on Ashby Road, close to its junction with Epinal Way, the EVIIR box stands proud outside the university's Harry French halls of residence, in the grounds of The Grove, on the left-hand side of the road as you come into town from the roundabout. It's actually This box dates from between 1901, when Edward VII became king on the death of his mother, Queen Victoria, and 1910, when he himself died, and was made by McDowell, Steven & Co.. 

EVIIR outside The Grove, 2016 

A close-up of the EVIIR cipher, 2013

The other EVIIR box is on Empress Road, located outside the corner shop at its junction with Judges Street. Again, we can date this box to 1901-1910, and it was also made by the firm of McDowell, Steven & Co.. The houses adjoining the shop were built in 1900, and those a couple of doors down have a distinct Edwardian look about them. A number of houses the opposite direction, closer to where there is a wall bearing shrapnel marks from the Zeppelin bomb attack of 1916, were built in 1903ish. It would seem that as the area grew, so did the need for a post box. This is the corner shop that Josiah Gilbert, who was killed by the Zeppelin bomb, ran. 

Empress Road EVIIR box, 2022

Close-up of the EVIIR cipher, 2022

Empress Road box outside the corner shop, 2022

Upon the death of Edward VII, in May 1910, George V became king, and reigned until his own death in January 1936. As you'd expect, we have more George V pillar boxes than those with ciphers of the earlier monarchs, and these are distinguishable from those of George VI's time, as George V's cipher is simply GR. Pillar boxes placed in Loughborough between 1910 and 1936 can be found on Forest Road, outside the shop; Knightthorpe Road, just after and opposite Dean Street; Leicester Road, at its junction with Factory Street; Old Ashby Road, at its junction with Windleden Road close to the shop; about halfway along Outwoods Drive; Cordell Road, off Braddon Road, and on Shelthorpe Road, at its junction with Woodthorpe Road. All these boxes were made by the Carron company.

The box on Forest Road outside the shop is interesting as it at one time had a directional arrow on its cap, but now no longer does.

Forest Road GR, with missing directional arrow, 2022

Close-up of the GR cipher, Forest Road, 2022

Maker's mark on the bottom of the pillar box, Forest Road, 2022

This is also true of the pillar box on Leicester Road which is situated outside a barber's shop, but which used to be a post office.

Leicester Road GR pillar box, 2022

GR box, Leicester Road, showing missing directional arrow, 2022

The GR pillar box on Cordell Road is a little puzzling as it sits in amongst a housing estate that was created in the 1970-1980s, and until the mid-twentieth century, the area of Thorpe Acre only had about 20 or so houses. I'm guessing this box was here before the newer estate was built.

GR box on Cordell Road, 2022

GR box on Cordell Road, 2022

Sadly, as I said above, I haven't found any pillar boxes in Loughborough bearing the EVIIIR cipher, and not many GVIR boxes either. The latter, dating between 1936 and 1952, appear on Beacon Road, opposite the junction to Herrick Road; Nottingham Road outside the former Towles factory, now SOFA, and close to Clarence Street, and on the corner of Broad Street, close to its junction with Ashby Road. The latter was positioned next to the post office, which is now an Oriental supermarket, before moving to the opposite side of the road, and now Ashby Road being without a post office. As far as I can tell, all the GVIR boxes in Loughborough were made by the Carron company.  

GVIR box on Broad Street, 2022

Close-up of the George VI cipher, Broad Street, 2022

A clear maker's mark on GVIR box on Broad Street, 2022

____________________________________

posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog. You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2022). Loughborough's letterboxes Part 3. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/10/loughboroughs-letterboxes-pt-3.html [Accessed 16 October 2022]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

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If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.  

 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne               

Zeppelins, Charnwood Museum, and the Gilberts

The Story of Josiah Gilbert, 1866-1916

The anniversary of the night of 31st January 1916, when Zeppelin bombs were dropped on Loughborough, falls tomorrow. Last year I covered the story of Josiah Gilbert, which you can read below, or you can listen to it on the recording linked to. 

What struck me after researching and writing this story was that I remembered there was a reconstructed shop in the Charnwood Museum in Queen's Park, which in truth I'd not paid much attention to. On a recent visit I lingered around the shop from Belton that had been preserved in time, and realised that far from being a bit of a random exhibit (is Belton in Charnwood, or North West Leicestershire?), this was also a big part of Josiah's story.

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Josiah Gilbert was the sixth child of William and Jane, being the youngest child, until the re-marriage of his father, and birth of two subsequent children, Thomas and Lucy. Josiah's elder brother, James, who was William and Jane's second child, after daughter Sarah Ann, had been born in Osgathorpe in 1850, 16 years before Josiah, who was born in 1866, also in Osgathorpe.

James is central to Josiah's story. In 1851, the Gilbert family - James, his parents, William and Jane, and his older sister Sarah Ann - were living in Osgathorpe, with William's parents, Thomas and Ann. Thomas was a retired cordwainer, and William was a blacksmith. Still living in Osgathorpe in 1861, with his parents, James now has two younger siblings, Mary Jane, and Elizabeth, and father, William, is now a master blacksmith.

By 1871, James has now moved to Long Street, Belton, where he is living with his uncle and aunt, George and Emily Holloway, and their daughter, Emma. George is a grocer and grazier, and James is an apprentice grocer.  The Holloway family had been trading at the Long Street premises since before 1841: on the 1841 census, Benjamin and his wife Martha (formerly Gilbert) were listed as grocers and tea dealers, and in 1851, their niece, Mary Gilbert, aged 12, was listed as their servant. After Benjamin's death in 1860, wife, Martha continued to run the business, and on the 1861 census is listed as a grocer and farmer occupying 27 acres and employing 1 man and 1 boy. Son George is an assistant to the grocer, presumably having returned to help in the family business. In 1863 Martha re-married, to Jacques Husbands, a retired farmer, and on the 1871 census they are living next door to the shop where Martha had previously lived, and where George is now the grocer, and James Gilbert the grocer's apprentice. 

James becomes the grocer's assistant, and is still living and working with the Holloways at 10 Long Street, in 1881. In 1889, James marries Harriet Shaw, daughter of a cordwainer from Belton, and who had been a pupil teacher at the local school. 

The National School in Belton

By the time of the 1891 census, James and Harriet have a baby daughter, Harriet Ethel. James is now the grocer and baker, and James' brother, Josiah, now aged 25, is the grocer's and baker's assistant. George Holloway, his wife, and their two grown-up daughters have now moved to another property, and George is listed as a grazier. 

Like his brother, James, rising from being grocer's apprentice to grocer's assistant, Josiah does the same, and in 1901 he was still with James at the shop in Belton. James and Harriet now have another daughter, Gladys Elizabeth. However, Josiah marries Sarah Newbold in 1901 and the pair move to Markfield, where their son William Handley Josiah Gilbert is born. 

James, Harriet and their two daughters are still living and working at the Long Street grocery and bakers, along with a servant and an assistant. The 1911 census tells us that the property has 7 rooms. In 1916, Zeppelin bombs land on Loughborough, and James's younger brother, Josiah, now living on Empress Road in the town, is killed.

Josiah Gilbert's grave in Loughborough cemetery

Josiah Gilbert's grave in Loughborough cemetery

It is likely that James and his family continue to live on Long Street, Belton, and they are still there in 1921. In 1929 James dies, and in 1939 his youngest daughter Gladys is running the shop, while her mother and her older sister are helping. Harriet Gilbert died in 1960, and the shop closed a few years later. Harriet Ethel died in 1976, and Gladys in 1982. 

According to the Charnwood Museum, when the shop closed, it was left exactly as it had been until about 1982 when Gladys died. Inside, the display stands and shevling, the products and the advertisements were preserved, although the building itself was in a run-down state. Leicestershire Museums service made an inventory of the contents and furniture in the shop, and at some point, some of those contents were used to populate the reconstructed shop that is now in Charnwood Museum.

Part of the information board in Charnwood Museum

Some of the contents of the Gilbert's shop in Belton

Today the shop is now converted to a home, and the building that housed the bakery that was at the back is still standing. There is a pleasant walk that runs along the side of the building, between that and a converted church. Meanwhile, in Loughborough, on Empress Road, Josiah Gilbert's shop is still trading as a corner shop.

Long Street, Belton

Long Street, Belton

The former bakery from the roadside

The former bakery with the two roof windows, from the rear

The path from the road to the fields behind the property

Josiah Gilbert's corner shop on Empress Road, Loughborough

Although the Belton Long Street grocers is no longer a shop, there is a village stores a bit further up the road in what looks like a 1930s building.

The current corner shop in Belton

Continue on down to read and hear Josiah's own story.  

_________________

Recording of the story of Josiah Gilbert Part 1, and Part 2

S1: The Story of Josiah Gilbert, 1866-1916 - Script

S2: Let’s set the scene. Briefly, the locations which feature herein are:

Belton, an agricultural village 6 miles west of Loughborough. In 1861 there were 781 inhabitants, and this remains similar today.
 
Breedon-on-the-Hill, a small village around 11 miles from Loughborough. The population in 1863 was around 650, and today this has risen to just over 1,000.
 
Markfield is just over 6 miles south west of Loughborough. In 1086 it comprised 2 households. In 1863 the village had just begun quarrying local stone, and housed around 1,400 inhabitants, while today just over 5,500 people live there.
 
Osgathorpe had 8 households in 1086, and is an agricultural village 8 miles west of Loughborough. In 1863 there were 351 inhabitants, and this is increased slightly to just over 400 today.
 
Loughborough in 1086, comprised 39 households. In 1861, the large manufacturing and market town,  had a population of around 11,000, which has risen to in excess of 60,000 today.
 
In 1916 the country is in the midst of the First World War.

S3: William Gilbert had been born in Osgathorpe in 1819 and his wife, Jane Barsby, in Rothley in 1823. They were married at Breedon in 1848. William and Jane’s first child, Sarah Ann, was born the following year, and son, James, in 1850, both born in Osgathorpe. At the time of the 1851 census, William was a blacksmith and the family were living in Osgathorpe.   

S4: There followed the birth of another two daughters, Mary Jane and Elizabeth, and another son, William. Josiah Gilbert was baptised on 6th May 1866 in Osgathorpe, the sixth child of William, listed as a farmer, and Jane. Sadly, Jane died in 1866 and William married Elizabeth Hodgkinson two years later and the birth of Thomas and Lucy followed. Sadly, Elizabeth appears to have died around 1870.

S5: The 1871 census return for Osgathorpe lists the widower, William, a blacksmith and farmer, living with six of his eight children. Sarah Ann had married and was living just down the road, and James, now 21, was living with his uncle, a grocer and grazier, on Long Street, Belton, where James was the grocer’s apprentice. The three older children, Mary, Elizabeth and William, were listed on the census return as scholars.

S6: By 1881, the family was living on what was listed as ‘Village Street’ Osgathorpe, where daughter Elizabeth was housekeeping for the family, son William was now working as a railway clerk, and the three younger children were scholars. Meanwhile, James had risen to the position of assistant grocer at his uncle’s grocery shop in Belton.

S7: By 1891 Josiah was living with James and James’s family – wife, Harriet and 4-month-old daughter, Harriet Ethel – on Long Street, Belton, where James was a grocer and baker, and Josiah was his older brother’s assistant.

S8: In 1901 James and Harriet’s family had grown, to include another daughter, Gladys Elizabeth, and Josiah, now aged 35 was still assisting his brother in the grocery and bakery business.

The 1901 census was taken on 31st March, just three weeks before the first banns of marriage between Josiah Gilbert and Sarah Newbold, both born in Osgathorpe, was read. Following the posting of a further two banns, on 28th April and 5th May, the couple were married: Josiah was aged 35, and Sarah, 30.

S9: Josiah and Sarah celebrated the birth of their son, William Handley Josiah Gilbert, on 23rd February, 1902, in Markfield, the birth being registered at Market Bosworth.

S10: In 1903 Josiah was listed on the electoral register as the owner of a dwelling house on Main Street Markfield. This listing continues into subsequent years, until 1911, and the family appear on the 1911 census return, living on Main Street, Markfield, where they live and work from the same property. The business is a grocery and bakery store, where Sarah assists her husband, while son William is a scholar.  Sarah’s place of birth is noted as Belton, rather than Osgathorpe.

S11: In 1912, Josiah appears on the register of electors as he now owns a dwelling house, no.29 Cumberland Road, Loughborough. His ownership of no.65 Cumberland Road is confirmed by an entry in the local register of electors for 1913.

S12: 29 Cumberland Road, Loughborough

S13: 65 Cumberland Road, Loughborough

S14: On 16th January 1913, Josiah Gilbert, baker and grocer, now of no.65 Cumberland Road, makes a will, leaving household furniture and effects, money in the bank (Notts and Nottinghamshire Bank, and Barclays in Leicester) the property on Main Road, Markfield (which he held on mortgage) as well as all other properties ‘wheresoever and whatsoever’ in his name, to his wife, Sarah. This will was witnessed by neighbours on Cumberland Road – Samuel Ward at no.55, and immediate neighbour, Isaac Stedmanees, at no. 63.

So, from what we have gathered so far, not only is Josiah a baker and grocer, he also seems to be a property owner, clearly owning more than one house.

S15: Then the 1914 local register of electors reveals that Josiah also now has a property on Empress Road, a dwelling house. This property, no.77, is also a shop, and Josiah is still there running the corner grocery shop at the time the 1915 register was taken.

S16: Corner shop at 77 Empress Road, Loughborough

S17: The houses in the area in which the shop was situated had grown up around the extensive Herbert Morris factory, previously known as Herbert Morris and Bastert, and which had moved to Loughborough from Sheffield in 1897. Between 1890 and 1930 the number of employees rose from 50 to around 2,000, making Herbert Morris one of Loughborough’s biggest employers. It is reasonable to suppose that any local corner shop sited opposite such a large factory with so many workers likely to visit, would ensure a thriving business and make a good living for its proprietor.

S18: Part of the Herbert Morris factory

S19: However, the new year of 1916 proved catastrophic for the Gilbert family, as, indeed, it did for many other families and individuals in Loughborough.

S20: At around 8pm on the night of January 31st 1916, a low rumble could be heard in the distance, which became louder and louder, until it reached its height over the town of Loughborough. Although there had been some degree of warning, and the local police had sent word around that all lights were to be extinguished, Zeppelin L20, which was ultimately heading for Liverpool, found its first target of Sheffield – or so the captain thought.

Zeppelins are notoriously difficult to navigate, and given the weather conditions and a troublesome engine, L20 had actually only reached Loughborough, having been completely unaware of the larger town of Leicester, whose lights had been extinguished. Attracted by lights that were still shining in Loughborough, L20 dropped its first bomb close to the Technical Institute, which actually fell in the yard of the nearby Crown and Cushion pub, causing the death of Mrs Martha Shipman.

The second bomb fell on The Rushes, causing complete havoc, and the death of William Adcock, Joe and Alice Adkin, and Ethel Higgs. Making its way from the centre of the town, towards the canal, and attracted by the bright lights shining through the glass roof of a factory that had only recently benefitted from electric lighting, the next bomb dropped landed in an orchard on Thomas Street, thankfully killing no-one. The final bomb dropped by Zeppelin L20 fell closer to the factory, and shrapnel flew into a nearby shop, killing, amongst others, the proprietor.

Leaving Loughborough townsfolk shocked and scared, and considering its job of bombing Sheffield done, the airship departed, heading to Liverpool. However, it  actually bombed Burton-on-Trent. The Herbert Morris factory on Empress Road, Loughborough, lying close to the canal, had been the target of the fourth bomb that dropped, killing Mary Anne Page, her son, Joseph, and daughter Elsie, and Arthur Christian Turnill.

S21: Shrapnel marks on Empress Road, Loughborough

S22: In the attack on Loughborough by Zeppelin L20, 10 people were killed, 12 people badly injured and many more suffered minor injuries.

S23: The centenary memorial plaque on The Rushes

S24: Josiah Gilbert, aged 49, was the shopkeeper who was killed by flying shrapnel, dying in the arms of his 14-year-old son, William.

S25: His distraught family posted a piece in the local newspaper, The Loughborough Echo, in February 1916, thanking all their kind friends for their sympathy. Sarah and son, William posted further memorials to Josiah on the anniversary of his death, in 1917, 1918 and 1919 -and probably beyond.

S26: Between 1920 and 1923 Sarah was registered as living at no.65 Cumberland Road.

S27: By 1924, Sarah and William had moved to no.17 Storer Road, where they both continued to live until Sarah’s death.

S28: 17 Storer Road, Loughborough (right)

S29: William stayed in the Storer Road property until around 1965 when he went to live at no.1 Beaufort Avenue, Loughborough, where he remained until his death.

S30: On 31st January 1970, William Handley Josiah Gilbert died. This was the 54th anniversary of the death of his father, Josiah Gilbert, on the night of the Zeppelin attack on Loughborough.

___________________  

S31: Sources consulted:
Due to lockdown, sources have mostly been found online and include:
Census returns, bmd, electoral registers, & newspaper reports accessed via Ancestry & FMP
The Loughborough Echo
A more detailed bibliography is available on request

Lynne Dyer, 29 January 2021, updated 23 April 2021

____________________ 

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2022). Zeppelins, Chsrnwood Museum, and the Gilberts. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/01/zeppelins-charnwood-museum-and-gilberts.html   [Accessed 30 January 2022]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne